The Andrews Labor Government is cracking down on rogue medical practitioners who make false statements about a child’s ability to be immunised with tough new No Jab No Play requirements.
Minister for Health Jill Hennessy and Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos will today introduce changes that will mean letters and other documents produced by GPs or other immunisation providers will no longer be acceptable as proof of immunisation.
Under the legislation, only Immunisation History Statements from the Australian Immunisation Register will be accepted as evidence of a medical reason why a child is not immunised when enrolling in childcare or kindergarten under No Jab No Play laws.
This means false and misleading vaccination exemptions written up by dodgy doctors – which put community health and safety at risk – will no longer be accepted for enrolment into early childhood facilities.
The amendments will also simplify the process for early childhood providers of assessing a child’s immunisation for the purposes of enrolment. Enrolment will only be confirmed once the Immunisation History Statement has been provided – instead of assessing a range of different documents.
Parents will also need to provide these statements – and early childhood services will need to collect them – at regular intervals to verify that a child attending a service has received all the necessary immunisations for their age.
Consultation will be undertaken with the early childhood sector to determine appropriate intervals for the new periodic checks. This amendment aims to further increase immunisation rates by adding additional prompts to parents and guardians to ensure their child’s immunisation status is up to date.
Last month, Victoria achieved its best ever immunisation coverage with nearly 95 per cent of 5-year old kids now protected against preventable and serious life-threatening diseases. This shows the Government’s work to improve immunisation rates and dispel myths about vaccination are working.
To receive reminders of when your child’s immunisations are due, download the VaxOnTime Victoria app.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Jill Hennessy
“We make no apologies for cracking down on rogue doctors who don’t put the health of our community first. The science is crystal clear – vaccinations are safe and save lives.”
“People who tout misinformation about immunisation are a menace and put the health and safety of children at risk. That’s why we want as many children as possible immunised and protected from life-threatening illnesses.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos
“Our No Jab No Play laws are here to stay – and our kinders are at the front line of helping us immunise our kids and prevent serious diseases like measles.”
“Immunising your child not only protects you and your family, but other children in the community – there is no excuse for not immunising your child.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020